


Holonovels for the Lonely

by NervousAsexual



Series: Odo Writes a Holonovel [1]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Holodecks/Holosuites, Odo writes a holonovel, Self-Esteem Issues, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 11:52:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10639293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAsexual/pseuds/NervousAsexual
Summary: prompt: "Imagine Odo having written a heartfelt holonovel and Quark trying his best to ruin it."





	

Quark wasn't sure what was worse--hearing from Grand Nagus Zek, or not hearing from him.

Sure, they'd had their misunderstandings here and there. He still felt betrayed that he wasn't really Zek's successor. And yes, there had been that one time he'd let a percentage of all business in the gamma quadrant escape because of his... not affection, Quark didn't have affection... his interest in Pel. But when it came to business, did anybody have the lobes that Quark did?

No. The answer was no.

"Very true, brother," Rom told him. "Nobody's ever had lobes like yours."

"Shut up." They were standing behind the bar with Morn and who knew who else listening.

"But, brother, you said it yourself."

"I said nothing!" Quark threw a dishtowel at his brother. "I... I was just thinking. Loudly. Go get more sand peas from storage. These are starting to settle."

Rom scuttled off dutifully.

Quark returned to surveying his bar. The place was too empty, he decided. It had been too empty for too long. It had been days since the last sizeable freighter crew passed through and spent their last coins on the dabo tables. Profits had never been so low.

He looked at the tables. But for Morn and a handful of dabo girls on break they were empty. He looked at the gambling tables. A single Bajoran tourist was placing the lowest possible bets on the same two numbers with every spin.

The dabo girl set the wheel to turning. Although Quark couldn't see what number it landed on, the look on the dabo girl's face said everything.

"Dabo?" the tourist said timidly.  
If this  
kept up he'd have to go back into gun-running.

  
Rom came stumbling back into the room with four bowls in his arms , spilling sand peas at every turn.

"Would you watch what you're doing?" Quark snarled. "As if we're not losing latinum by the minute!"

Rom looked around the bar. More sand peas spilled as he did. "That's not true, brother. The holosuites have been booked out days in advance!"

  
"Holosuites! Who cares about holosuites?"

Rom frowned. "The customers?"

Grumbling, Quark settled back into his stupor. Holosuites. Any fool could rent holosuites and turn a profit. It took lobes to run a proper business and welcome customers and keep them coming back even when they lost money.

It was starting to look like his lobes weren't so big after all.

"Business will pick up," Rom said, setting down a bowl of sand peas that wasn't any fuller than the one he picked up. "It always does!"

That meant nothing to him. After all, Rom's praise came cheap.

(Quark looked around to make sure he hadn't thought that one too loudly)

He did have a monopoly on entertainment on the Promenade. What if that was the reason for his success? What if that he wasn't as good at profit as he thought? What if he died someday and Quark's run by Rom was just as successful as Quark's run by Quark? Worse, what if it did better?

It was almost a relief when Odo walked into the bar.

"Odo!" he called, and waved an arm. "Come to check up on me?"

Odo surveyed the bar and when his eyes fell on Quark he grimaced. He started toward him, but he seemed to be moving more slowly than usual. As he drew closer it became apparent why. Jadzia Dax was hobbling along behind him, and both of her arms were wrapped around Odo.

"Can I interest you in a synthale?" Quark asked them. Odo grunted in response. Dax shook her head. "I can't help but notice you've grown your own symbiote, Odo." Odo stared at him, obviously unimpressed. Quark couldn't help but feel a little jealous. "Don't suppose you'd want to share the wealth?"

Odo put his head on one side. "Rule of Acquisition 174: share and perish."

Quote the Rules at me, why don't you, Quark thought, but as he opened his mouth to speak Morn looked up from his drink. His eyes fell upon Odo. Silently, his mammoth bulk rose from the stool, toddled over to Odo, and then his arms enveloped both Dax and Odo.

"Aw," said Rom. Quark gave him a dirty look and he scampered off to wipe tables.

"Am I missing something?" Quark asked.

"Odo wrote a holonovel." Dax piped up from somewhere in the massive Morn-hug. "I can't speak for Morn, but it is the best thing I personally, have ever experienced."

Quark grinned. "Wrote a holonovel, eh? What's it about?"

Odo just glowered.

"It's the sweetest thing," Dax said. "I can't describe it. You have to experience it."

"I try not to use the holosuites when I could be renting them."

"Too bad, then! I'm not going to spoil it. And Morn won't either, right, Morn?"

Morn gazed solemnly across the top of Odo's head.

"You'll just have to find it yourself."

"Is it about kittens?" Quark asked. He tried to imagine Odo writing a holonovel about kittens. He couldn't come up with anything. Unless... He leaned in close. "It's a romance, isn't it?"

He searched Odo's face for a reaction, but 90% of Odo's face was hidden by Morn.

"It is, isn't it! You wrote a sappy holonovel about people falling in love and swooning on each other!"

"I am leaving now." Odo struggled to turn around under the weight of Dax and Morn.

"I thought human mating rituals were too complicated for you!" Quark called after him.

As the trio hobbled toward the door, still engaged in the biggest hug ever seen in Quark's, Dr. Bashir emerged from a holosuite. His hair was rumpled and his eyes were red and he was sniffling. He caught sight of the escaping hug.

"Is that Odo?" he asked.

Quark nodded, and the doctor ran over, threw his arms around Morn, Dax, and Odo, and the now four of them squeezed through the front door.

The Bajoran tourist cashed in their winnings and left. The dabo girls wandered off. Rom was somewhere, who cared where. Quark found himself alone in the empty bar and felt, once again, like he'd failed somewhere along the line.

He was sitting at the bar, flicking sand peas off into the distance, when Garak came in and sat across from him.

"Get ya something?" Quark didn't feel much like oozing hospitality.

"Just a small shot. Dr. Bashir will be along shortly. He is going to teach me racquetball."

Quark poured the shot. "Dr. Bashir, you say? Has he told you anything about Odo's new holonovel?"

Garak took a sip and considered. "I don't believe so. Major Kira mentioned it, though. She enjoyed it."

"She did, huh." Quark looked around the empty bar. "Did she tell you what it was about? Did it have humans in it? Were the humans wearing bustiers and necking with each other? Were they doing that thing humans do with tongues?"

There was silence for a moment. Garak cleared his throat, finished his drink, and paid his tab. "I think I'll meet Dr. Bashir outside."

"Wait!" Quark yelled after him. "At least tell me if there was spooning involved...!"

The bar was, once again, empty.

Now his curiousity was spiked. Quark angrily polished the bar. What kind of pap would Odo write? He couldn't decide. If anything he would have expected him to write some kind of mystery holonovel...

Quark dropped his towel and stared at the holosuites.

Now there was an idea. Odo writing a mystery holonovel. A mystery novel starring himself. A mystery novel with a romantic storyline. A mystery novel where the player romanced Odo.

"This I have to see," he said to himself. He locked up shop and hurried back to an empty holosuite.

"Computer? Do you have a holonovel authored by security chief Odo?"

"Checking library. Checking... one holohovel. Title: Odo Holonovel v1.2."

Name could use some work, Quark thought. "Run that program."

He bounced up and down excitedly as the lights came down. This was going to be good. Even if it wasn't as apocalyptically bad as he hoped, it would at least be something to tease Odo over and it would take his mind off the bar.

There wasn't any background noise or music to introduce the holonovel. When he glanced around, there didn't seem to be any setting either. Unless the holonovel was set in a holosuite. Or unless Odo didn't know how to program in a setting.

Quark had to laugh.

All that the program called up was a single chair in the middle of the room. Odo sat in the chair, his fingers pressed together in a pyramid, legs crossed, eyes staring intently at Quark.

Quark tugged at his collar.

"I don't understand the appeal of holonovels," holo-Odo said. "We live in an infinitely complex universe, on the edge of the only stable wormhole in history, with an all but uncharted quadrant on our hypothetical doorstep."

Boring. Quark made sure holo-Odo could see him yawn.

Holo-Odo frowned.

"I have created this holonovel at the request of Captain Sisko. He has suggested it might be theraputic, not only for me but for anyone who might run the program."

Holo-Odo looked him right square in the eyes.

"I want to make sure you know," he said, "that you are not a failure."

Now it was Quark's turn to frown. "Beg pardon?"

"Even if things are going badly, know that you are not a failure. Things can improve and they will do so. You are doing brilliantly. It will be okay."

Quark looked around but the rest of the holosuite was still empty.

"Just take things a little at a time. It will be okay, and you will be okay."

Quark turned off the program.

  


* * *

  


  
The door to security opened, and inside Odo and Rom were sitting across from one another. Quark drifted in.

"Problems, Quark?" Odo asked. "Or are you here to discuss Nog's behavior as well?"

Quark said nothing. He came around behind the desk and wrapped both arms around Odo and hugged him.

"Oh." Odo turned back to Rom. "Regardless, Nog has been warned multiple times about playing pranks on sightseers. This is a space station, not a private funhouse, and if I see more Bajoran tourists who have been turned blue and green he will be punished. Am I clear?"

Rom mumbled something and nodded, looking shame-faced.

"Good. Now, I have other things that require my attention."

Quark did not let go.

"Quark, I said I have other things that require my attention."

Quark was silent. Odo sighed and glared at Rom for a while longer. At last, Quark stood up again and let him go.

"Gentlemen," Odo said, and took his leave.

It didn't mean anything, Quark thought. Odo hadn't written the program for him, of course, it was just generic advice in a second-rate program. And he'd even abandoned the hug as soon as possible.

"That was strange," Rom said.

"What was strange?"

"You hugged him."

Quark glowered at him. "What of it?"

"Oh no, not you, brother. I meant Odo. He could have shapeshifted out of that hug but he didn't. I wonder why?"

Quark blinked in surprise. He turned to look out the door but Odo was gone.

"That's true," he said. "I wonder why."

They stood there looking for a moment, but only a moment. Quark had to get back to the bar.

After all, how could you have Quark's without Quark?

**Author's Note:**

> Based on multiple tumblr posts. Original idea [here](http://imagineodo.tumblr.com/post/139840581159/imagine-odo-having-written-a-heartfelt-holonovel), with positivity from literally the best blog ever [here](https://trekpositive.tumblr.com/post/159496229845/odo-wants-to-make-sure-you-know-that-youre-not-a?is_related_post=1) and [here](https://trekpositive.tumblr.com/post/159579869570/odo-wants-you-to-know-that-its-okay-not-to-have).


End file.
